Chaos Amongst the Peace
by FigTreeofyourImagination
Summary: Knuckles is all alone on the Floating Island, always has been. Or is he? The Guardian of the Emeralds faces an unreal threat that dwells right under his nose, but what is it? Dark secrets come to the fore as he struggles to preserve his life and sanity.
1. I:i  The PigMan

Disclaimers: Knuckles and his chromatic clones all belong to the Sonic Team and Yuji Naka.

BUT everything besides is MINE.

This is a fic I started over the summer, and thought held a fair amount of interest. This isn't a replacement to 'Worth a Thousand Words', to those of you who are probably cursing my name for leaving it this long. No, this is just something a bit different from what I usually write (don't run away!). There won't be so much random-dumb, as it's considerably more serious-like. This will be an epic of sorts, nice and long with lots of strange to entertain you.

This is more or less based in the game universe, but as to where time-wise and whatnot is not important as far as I'm concerned. The rating is staked at 'T' for now (like everything else I write), but that may or may not change for whatever reason. No, you will not find hentai here. Go somewhere else. There will, however, be violence, possible bloodshed, mystery, confusion, insanity, poltergeists, giants, and other such fantastic things that defy the founding laws of physics. Though for you squeemish people, there shouldn't be any gore-based nastiness for a while. When it comes around I'll warn you.

Without further stalling, I bid thee happy reading. Enjoy.

* * *

CHAOS AMONGST THE PEACE

**Part The First: A Visitor From The Periphery**

CHAPTER I: THE PIG-MAN

The Floating Island hovered above the seas, a colossus fragment of a lost paradise that was accessible to only a prize few. Upon its grasses and over its forests rested an all manner of creatures great and small, each unique to this fantastic land capable of flight against all the known laws of physics. Also unique to this place was a shrine unlike any make upon the land or water below. Crafted from stone more ancient than the very mountains that rivalled the Island's lower counterpart and more intricate than the veins of a tree's leaf, this proclaimed sacred ground had but one keeper, fiery of temper and noble of spirit.

Knuckles the Echidna, Guardian of the Floating Island's only standing building and source of power, sat by himself on the vast steps of the shrine that held the infamous Master Emerald. He, like the animal species that frequented the single piece of fantastical land, was alone amongst the peoples of the world. He had no friends upon the Island, no family he knew of nor could remember. No pets, no hobby to pass the time he spent at the shrine's feet. He merely sat, and watched. It was his duty, his purpose. The red mammal huffed at nothing, staring across the plain that spanned before the altar. He wished that there had been a forest in front of him. At least then there would have been something to watch other than blades of grass waving in the wind.

It was safe to say he was bored out of his skull, but dared not to admit it. This was his purpose for existing, to keep vigil over the world's greatest artefacts, the Chaos Emeralds. The gems, though comparatively small, possessed greater power than any army any madman could conjure. And by 'madman' he referred to the equally infamous Doctor Eggman, antagonist of the whole world and all who lived upon it. The scientist was a troublemaker worst than the most talented of tricksters. And by 'trickster' he meant his strained acquaintance, Sonic the Hedgehog. Knuckles made a face and kicked at a stray rock in the most disheartened way any being could possibly pull off. He hated them both, utterly and yet not at all.

Eggman was a total loon, bereft of any normal sense of hobby-keeping and social capabilities. He was a very smart man, just obsessed with something he could not have. He had no obligations to the world at large, so he aimed his resources and power for animosity. Just why the man wanted to take over the world so badly he couldn't guess. There were so many other ways the Doctor could put his intellect to better use, to serve not only those around him but also himself. The echidna was sure that Eggman would be a much happier, less lonely person if he just stopped trying to be such a bully. He hated him for his cruelty, but admired him for his ingenuity.

Sonic, on the other hand, was nowhere near as intellectually gifted as the robot-wielding man, but that had no bearings against his abilities, which were purely physical. The blue hedgehog couldn't take note of commonsense if it bit him in the arse, but he could run so fast that commonsense simply couldn't keep up anyway. The creature had no obligations to anyone but himself, did only what he wanted, and no-one could tell or direct him otherwise. He made useless wisecracks about everything and invoked more wrath in the Guardian than even the greatest of his enemies. They butted heads on everything. He hated him for his freedom and lack of consideration of others, but was jealous of him, and admired him for the exact same reason.

Knuckles had no freedom. He had no escape. He was bound to this place built by some forgotten civilisation and left to fade away with the constant cycling of the ruthless seasons. He knew there were others like him, but only in the past. There had been Guardians before him, their names were inscribed upon the inner walls of the shrine, but they were gone. Long since dead before he ever came here. His name was on those walls, too. How it got there, he had no idea. He didn't remember scribing it there, and he most certainly didn't recall seeing someone else do it for him.

He blew at a dandelion puff floating by his nose.

This was about as interesting as it got on the Island. It was peaceful. Too peaceful. Knuckles couldn't stand it. His only relief from the monotony of his job was when that fool Eggman would come and attempt to steal the Master Emerald, or end up breaking it in the process. That was the only time he would be permitted to leave the Floating Island. Otherwise, he was stuck here. His 'friends' had told him many times that he was free to leave whenever he wished, that he was not so bound to the altar of the Emeralds as he claimed. He had told them all that they were fools. Knuckles knew the extent of his extremely limited stomping grounds. The Island was large, but not large enough. He had tested his boundaries many times, and he always ended up with the same result. He would attempt to leave the fabled paradise when the Seven and the Master were in place and safe, but he could never bring himself to leap from the Island's edge and glide about the skies to his heart's content, or traverse the earth far below to his liking. No. Something would hold him back. The red Guardian had no idea of what it was, but it kept him from going where he was not meant to go. He'd tried other things, as well. He had even attempted to throw one of the Emeralds from the edge of the hovering land, to give himself an excuse to leave, but lo and behold, he could never go farther from the shrine than a mere yard with but one of the gems in hand. The same force that kept him here, would not let him manipulate the laws of his position to his own meagre gain.

He was a prisoner upon this… 'paradise'. He scoffed at the term. It was no paradise. The fruit was sweet and the skies were rarely never clear, but for all its presumed perfection, there was _nothing_. Nothing to break the solitude and peace. It angered him. It drove him mad. He swore that he would someday lose his mind completely, thanks to the constant silence and lack of wind around the tiny temple.

Knuckles had searched for any signs of life other than the birds upon the Island. Many times. If there had been other Guardians, then there most surely must have been a civilisation built here. When the floating block of earth was over the water and ice and in no danger of being invaded, he would take to the calm skies and scour the land for any sign, any remnant, even, of life like himself. Time and time again his searches would reveal nothing. There was only the shrine, and the dangerous catacombs that stretched beneath it to the other side of the Island, where the dense, tropical forests grew. Aside from that there were no monuments, no lost cities, no buried mudhuts. Nothing. The only thing he had ever found was the Colossi, grand weathered statues made in the likeness of himself, or those he assumed built this forsaken place. But that was all. It despaired him to no end despite his spirit. He claimed to be a loner, but that was only because he had no-one to socialise with. It wasn't fair. Eggman had his robots and politicians to threaten. Sonic had Tails and Amy to brag to.

Knuckles didn't have anyone.

He could claim that Sonic was his friend, but it would only be, in is mind, a half-truth. Sonic got on his nerves something fierce, and always within just a few minutes of being with the 'hero' he would be sorely tempted to just knock him one good. Tails was like Sonic's conjoined brother, and had no eyes other than for his hero. Amy was the same way, only she wanted to be joined with the blue blur at the lips. Rouge, on the other hand, was more of a rival than anything else. She would appear from time to time, and attempt to swipe the precious gems from under his nose. He would foil her plans again and again, though they proved to be a fair amount of welcome distraction for the duration they lasted, which wasn't long enough. But the bat wasn't invading his grounds as often as she used to. She wasn't one to quit, he had found, but he was sure that she was beginning to lose interest in contesting against him for the Emeralds of Chaos. On top of that, the mad Doctor was developing new ways to power his machines without the gems, which in turn would result in less pain for him by way of Knuckles' fists and less getaway time for the echidna. As a result, Sonic had less of a reason to 'visit', or antagonise him, thus the echidna had fewer opportunities to prove the hedgehog's foolishness.

The echidna didn't feel sorry for himself.

No, he was merely angry at the circumstances that put him here. He didn't know, however, what they were. Had he been abandoned as a pup by unprepared parents and left upon the shrine's steps? Had he been an offering to the unseen forces of the temple by a group of god-fearing people for some anomaly he possessed by birth? Had he wandered off by himself and gotten lost when he had been young? These and other questions, those he did not like to even think about, often flooded his brain, begging for answers neither he nor the chipped walls of the Emeralds' shrine could give. He had no past, and was unsure of his future. Was he to die here? Never to leave by the will of some unknown force? Never to know freedom until his death? He didn't know. Could never know, until Fate passed its biased judgement upon his pointed head.

He laid back on the stone steps, sighing at the slowly moving sky high above.

How long had it been? Sixteen years? Maybe more? To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure of his own age, though he had a good idea of where he sat on the rollercoaster of life; a coaster that went nowhere, with him an unwilling passenger surrounded by seats occupied by either the dead or invisible.

Good Lord there wasn't even any clouds in the sky to see.

He hurled a spare rock into the sky.

"Bored are we?"

His head snapped up, eyes wide.

The stranger chuckled. "Didn't mean to startle you, young one. I thought you would have heard me coming, but I guess the grass is extra soft this year."

Knuckles rubbed at his eyes. Before him stood a creature of the likes he had never seen. It was nearly identical to a human, but with the head of a pig. His ears were long and fell to his shoulders, as did his wiry, dreaded black hair. He wore an old, faded poncho that hung to the very ground and walked with a gnarled staff. The thing looked as if he were over a hundred years old. "Who are you?" Knuckles questioned at last.

The stranger leaned on his staff. "Oh, my name's an obvious one, but one I'm not telling you," he said with a wrinkled grin.

The black eyes of this person were boring a hole into him. He stood up. "Then what are you doing here?" he demanded. "This is sacred ground."

"Pfft. Sacred ground?" laughed the other. "A pile of rubble to house a bunch of polished rocks?" He held out his free hand, which held a green, glowing gem.

Knuckles recognised it instantly: a Chaos Emerald! What the--they were all in the temple! He knew so! How did this person get his hands on one?! He passed an unbelieving glance behind him for a split second. The aura over the shrine, one that he alone as Guardian could see, told him that indeed one of the all-important Emeralds was missing. He tried to grab the stone back from the stranger. "Return it!" he ordered when the pig-faced figure flicked it out of reach. He bunched his fists in anticipation for a fight. He didn't really like the idea of having to fight some old fart to get what was his returned to him, but if he must he will. He half-expected the creature to turn tail and run.

On the contrary, the figure merely continued to lean on his staff, his smile wider than before. He wheezed an unhealthy laugh. "What a spirit you have, Guardian. Too bright to kept here to watch over something so trivial as these blocks of the Forgotten Gods." He handed the gem to the red echidna.

Blinking in confusion, Knuckles loosened his stance. He took the Emerald back with slight hesitation.

"I mean you no harm, Guardian," said the pig-faced stranger. "I merely come to see whom the Chaos have claimed as their maid for yet another generation." He looked beyond Knuckles at the ancient shrine with what the young mammal was sure to be contempt. "It is a cruel Fate, that which has been given to you."

"How would you know?" he questioned him, his former hostility more or less gone. He still didn't entirely trust this creature. The force, that same presence that kept him here, was telling him not to. "Who are you?"

"I know many things, Guardian, about this place, and those who are unfairly chosen to keep watch at its steps. As for who I am, that does not matter, not yet."

The echidna wasn't about to take 'no' for an answer, even one that was so cleverly hidden. "I'll ask you again: Who are you and how do you know about me?"

The other smiled at him, leaning against his staff with both hands. He looked as if he was about to fall. "As insistent and stubborn as ever, I see." He suddenly gripped at his chest and wheezed harshly, dropping his staff.

Knuckles was at his side in a blink, guiding the creature to the steps to sit. The force of the shrine was protesting against this, but it did nothing.

"I have known of you since the day you were born, Knuckles Ko-Yeq," said the stranger as he sat.

"Ko-Yeq?"

"That is your last name. It isn't inscribed upon the Walls, as it should be, just like the names of those who came before you."

"What do you mean?" He stood up. "How could you know me?" he demanded. "I've never seen you before in my life."

"Oh, I've been here for a long time, Guardian, much longer than you would believe, actually. As for how I know you, I've been watching, as I do with every new Guardian. I saw you come, and if you follow blindly like those before, I will see you fade." He sighed, looking up into the cloudless sky. "Ko-Yeq means 'earthly fire'. You embody that title well."

"Who are you?!" Knuckles was getting... frightened. Who was this creature? Why did he know about him? He had never seen him on the Floating Island, and he had looked for signs of life everywhere! What was going on? It was very rare that he was ever scared, but this stranger was hitting all his nerves with every word he spoke, and he didn't know how he was doing it.

The stranger merely gazed at him with those black eyes. He sat silently for a long while as the Guardian huffed on his feet, hair standing on end. "I," he said at length. "Am Yormek. The Walls would refer to me as The Constructor."

Knuckles pointed at him wildly. "Demon! You're the Demon the writings speak of!"

Yormek laughed genuinely. "A Demon? Is that what they're calling me now? Please." He waved a hand at him. "I'm no Demon, Guardian. I'm an old man waiting for his last breath."

The echidna was not convinced.

The creature smirked. "I don't expect you believe me, after all you've based your life upon what is written on those Walls, no?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry to see that, that they have done such a thing to you, before your will could have prevented them from working their lies."

"The shrine holds no lies," he hissed venomously.

"Oh?" challenged the old figure. "I beg to differ. I would know otherwise."

"And how would that be, Demon?" he interrogated.

Yormek grinned. "How? I built them, that's how."

- - -

When Knuckles finally woke, the stars were circling far above. He groaned and put a hand to his head. Had he fallen asleep...?

"Ah, you're awake."

He spun around on the grass in surprise, working his way into a tussled sitting position. Yormek was grinning at him in the dark, still sitting on the steps. But he had retrieved his staff.

"No, you weren't dreaming," said the figure. "Too bad, eh?"

Knuckles was beyond fighting this now. "What do you want with me?" he questioned softly. This odd character wanted something from him, he knew. Why else would anybody visit this place? There were few things other than rocks here that were of any value. And those few things belonged to him.

Yormek peered at him carefully from under his black dreadlocks. "I don't really want anything of you, Guardian. But what I do want, is something I have been cursed with by the wish of your parents and the parents of those who were forced to serve here before you."

"My... my parents?" He scrambled to his feet. He was inches from Yormek's nose in a heartbeat. "You know my parents?" All thoughts of caution were flushed away with the mere notion that this crazy old man could know of his parents.

"Oh, yes. I speak with them every day. They're stubborn, like you."

"Are they here? Where are they?" He was so giddy with excitement his head was spinning. This old man did know his parents! He must! What he wouldn't give to see them! It was the one thing he was jealous of against everyone else. Everyone he knew had parents. But he never did.

Until now.

Yormek fought to his feet with the red Guardian's help. "Your parents," he wheezed, "are here, but not for much longer, if those blasted rocks have their way."

"Please! I need to see them! Can you take me?" Knuckles begged. He had never wanted anything so badly before.

The stranger passed a hateful glance to the altar of the Emeralds. "Perhaps, but we will have to be swift. For your slave-drivers won't like your absence at my expense." He motioned with his staff. "Come. This way."

Knuckles soon found that the old figure could run quite fast.

"Why are you running?" he called out to him, finding that he was lagging behind steadily. He tried to keep up.

Yormek didn't look back. "Time is of the essence, Guardian. We must hurry if you are to meet your parents!"

This alone was enough to drive Knuckles beyond his regular span of endurance. He would opt for gliding, but there would be no way for him to possibly carry the old man. He needed both his hands for gliding properly, and he didn't have the stability to transport him on his back. So he ran with the very maker of the shrine he was bound to. He frowned. It seemed so unreal. How could this stranger be the builder of the Emeralds' temple? The altar was ancient! Yormek didn't look the part, which made his claim rather shaky at best. And what of his supposed knowledge of his parents? What if it was a lie? What if he was being lured away from the shrine to allow the Emeralds to be exposed for theft and abuse? He stopped running at this new thought. What if…

Sensing that the Guardian was no longer behind him, Yormek halted as well, passing a confused glance behind him. He frowned slightly upon seeing that the red echidna was not following. "Guardian! Why are you not following?" he questioned, staff gripped tightly.

"How do I know this isn't a trick?" he demanded, suddenly feeling very exposed and threatened. "How can you have built the shrine? How could you have known my parents when I have never seen them?"

The pig-faced figure came up to him. "Please, Guardian, you must let go. These are not your thoughts."

He glared at him.

"Listen. You are worried of the Emeralds, are you not?" Yormek came closer. "They are _putting_ these thoughts into your head, not you. These aren't your desires, to protect the Emeralds, it is their own, which they impose upon you to do their bidding. Search yourself, Guardian, and you will find that such notions of danger towards the stones is fabricated, and poorly at that. What matters right now is not the Emeralds."

Knuckles looked at the ground. He didn't understand. "But… the Master Emerald--"

"No," enforced Yormek. "Don't think of the Master, push it from your mind. If you can't then you will never see your parents in this life. Their time is very limited, and if you continue to question me in this regard, it will run out, and by the time their next chance to speak cycles back, the Chaos that resides here will have already rid this accursed place of them." he stood before the red echidna silently, watching him waver. "Come, Guardian, and follow me."

Knuckles, lost, nodded.

With a huff the old man continued into the horizon, the young Guardian close behind.

Thoughts of the Emeralds and their current state of exposure kept invading the echidna's mind as he ran. He still couldn't help but question what was happening. What if this stranger was lying? Leading him away to be captured? Kept as a slave? Sold as some exotic pet? But he couldn't ignore the possibility that he could be telling the truth. He didn't want to pass up what was seeming to be the only chance he would have at seeing his parents. A brief glance at the sky told him that it was nearing midnight on the Island. The stars were bright, but clouds from the East were rolling in to blot them away.

Leafy shrubs and tall grasses were signalling the fast approach of the denser forests of the paradise, just outside the tropical environment that surrounded the second half of the age-old shrine. Tall deciduous trees began to emerge over the hilly horizon, spearing into the dark sky as far as they dared.

Yormek stopped suddenly, peering about. Knuckles stood at his side, his caution raised thanks to his dark suspicions. He wasn't taking any chances, regardless of whether or not this creature was truthful or not. He stood with the old man for several seconds. He found it rather odd, that there was no sound to be heard. There were usually crickets going wild at this time of night in this area. Why they were so silent he couldn't figure.

A long, forlorn and alien howl rose in the far horizon behind them, making them both jump. Knuckles was stunned. That sounded like a wolf! There were no wolves on the Island! Yormek gripped his shoulder. "Guardian, keep running for the trees ahead of us, and don't stop until you've reached the statues, understand? I will meet you there. It seems as though I have something to waylay first." Quicker than the red echidna could protest, the old figure was gone, rushing back the way they had come. Left alone and rather cold, Knuckles did as he was told. He kept at a quick jog, his mind still battling back and forth over all that had transpired between himself and the stranger up until now. Should he listen? Should he run? Should he go back to the altar? He was confused and unsure of what he truly wanted. He wanted to see his parents. He wanted also to protect the Emeralds. Which… which should he choose? The howl sounded a second time, much closer than the first. Jumping, he upped his pace to a full-out run, not wanting to be caught by some carnivore he had never spotted before. All thoughts of the Emeralds was shattered by a new instinct to simply _run_.

The trees enveloped him in an instant. He continued to run, heading for the wood's centre, far from the edge of the tropical hemisphere. A third howl, sounding from within the tree-line he had just passed, made him break into a cold foreboding chill. Sweating bullets like nobody's business Knuckles urged himself to run faster. He didn't dare to take to the air. The increasingly thick arrangement of tree trunks and the worsening cloud cover prevented him seeing very far in any direction, and any wrong turn in the air would land him unconscious on the forest floor and thus easy pickings for whatever was chasing him. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact there was a _wolf_ on the Floating Island. It was impossible! He had traversed this hunk of rock more times than he could remember or count, and never once saw any indication of carnivorous habitation. No bones, no dens, no calls of animal hunters. So what, then, was this? He put the inquiry out of his mind for now, knowing that it was best to ponder about it once he was out of harm's way.

Soft, animal huffing sounded from behind him, followed by a short snarl. There was a rush of wind, and the racket of a falling tree drowned out everything else. Whatever had been felled hit the earth with a deafening crash, sending a shockwave both physical and aural throughout the wood. The red Guardian, for all his spunk, was on the verge of screaming at the top of his lungs for mercy, covering his head with both gloved hands to shield himself from the falling debris from the tree's plummet. Did the creature do that? Knuckles was dumbfounded, there was no creature that could do that! But was it even a creature? Could Eggman have returned to Island to rid himself of him in order to final gain the Emeralds for his collection of fuel cells? He didn't know. He just ran as hard as he could.

The clearing that held the Colossi, the only manufactured things on the Island aside from the temple, was at last fast approaching. With every stride he took, he could feel something malicious gaining on him, and he didn't have the courage to look back to see just what it was. He strained for the stone creatures, tears threatening to well up in his eyes and further hamper his already reduced vision. Never in over eight years had he shed a tear, but whatever was behind him was inspiring the worst sense of hopelessness he could have ever imagined.

He couldn't feel his legs. Knuckles was nearly stumbling in his exhaustion, never before had he run so far at once. When he tripped on a stray root, he was sure he was as good as dead. His body tumbled through the air and grass over the threshold of the Colossi's clearing, stopping to rest just within its boundaries. He laid there, utterly spent, waiting for the menace that had hounded him to pounce upon him.

Much to his surprise, nothing happened. Even the foreboding sense of hopelessness was gone. The red furred Guardian struggled back to his feet, chancing a glance back into the dark forest.

Nothing. Nothing met his sight. Only silent trees and waving blades of grass stretched out before him. Where was the beast that had been hot on his tail but a second before? He did not dwell on it, for he felt it was best not to count his blessings before they were each accounted for at the end of his days.

Either way, it seemed as though he was safe for the time being. He turned back to the clearing, to gaze at the monoliths of carved stone spaced about it. They sat in pairs, these weathered statues, silent and ominous. Knuckles could never place why, but he always felt a sense of calm here, as if he was being watched by a benevolent force. Despite that, he didn't come here often, for his duties at the shrine kept him on a very short leash. But when he did come here, he would always never want to leave. He wandered about the grassy space, peering at each of the Colossi in turn. They were shaped like him, or more precisely, his people. They were hunched in a sitting position, not unlike a foetal curl, but their 'heads' were always visible, their stone hands always resting atop their knees, clasped together as if in waiting. In his visits he had counted twenty pairs in the clearing, amounting in forty of the great moss-covered constructions in all. Each one had its eyes closed.

These were the closest things he had in terms of company on the Floating Island. It always threatened to break him, the fact that he was so alone. But these statues, somehow lessened the weight of his role as Guardian of the sacred Chaos Emeralds. At the bad times in his life he would come here, and sit himself before the Colossi. He would sometimes find himself talking to them, just pouring out his woes for the betterment of his own feelings. He always felt so silly when he thought about it, but when he did it, he didn't feel so inclined to think that way. It always seemed as though the stone people were somehow listening to him, offering comfort. He wound through the pairs, looking for one in particular. Knuckles had always found himself drawn towards a certain pair of these monoliths, and he found that set soon enough, his sense of direction pulling him towards his goal like a magnet.

They were weathered just as much as those that surrounded them, pocked with erosion and covered in moss. They stood auspiciously above him like Gods of benevolence, looking down upon his form. For all their size and make, Knuckles never felt fear here. Standing before them he already could feel a great weight being lifted from his shoulders. He jogged up to the pair.

He sat with his back against them, arms crossed over his knees. They towered high above him, a blackness that was nowhere close to oppressive as the night sky alone could be. Here he felt safe and protected unlike the Emeralds could ever give him, though he could never fathom why. But he was grateful.

And just where was Yormek? He said he would meet him here. Had something happened? Had the howling beast gotten him? Or had he fled for his own life and left him for dead? Whatever the case, the Guardian was not moving from this spot until daybreak, when the sun would clear the darkness and he would be free to glide back to where he belonged. Though from now on he would be more cautious about the Island, now that he knew that there was a beast prowling the green. He would have to find a way to get rid of it later.

The angle of the moon and un-obscured stars told him that midnight was fast approaching. He felt tired. If Yormek didn't show, he could climb the Colossi to be out of sight of his chaser, should it return, and gain some much needed rest high above the ground.

A soft rustling sounded from the edge of the clearing, nearing with every second. Knuckles stood up, ready to rush to higher ground should the source of the noise be the beast that had terrorised him just moments before. He tightened his fists, his stance tense and ready to throw him to safety at a second's notice. Much to his relief, the figure that emerged at long last was the old pig-faced man. "Guardian!" he called as he caught sight of him. He shuffled for him with his staff. "Thank goodness you made it here! I thought the Beast had taken you." He stopped before the red echidna, hand on his chest as he regained his breath. "I had hoped to ward the Beast away, but the creature had tricked me, and wormed past my position."

The red Guardian stood before him, questions flying about his brain. "What was that thing, Yormek?" he asked first, eager to know what was now bound to harass him and the Island's native inhabitants.

The old man gave him a solemn look, breathing deeply. He finally composed himself, but did not speak.

"Yormek?" He didn't like the other's silence.

He closed him eyes momentarily in sorrow. "The Beast, Guardian… I cannot tell you."

"Why not? It must just be a wolf," he argued. "I will get it off this Island tomorrow," he said, standing straight. "I won't have such an animal prowling the Floating Island."

Yormek shook his head strongly, waving a hand negatively as well. "No no, Guardian! The Beast must not be trifled with. It will be gone by morning, I'm sure…"

Knuckles eyes him suspiciously. "How do you know?" he challenged.

The elder being hung his head. "If the chance comes, I will tell you everything… But not now." He stood up straight as well. "Now, is time for you to meet your parents."

The echidna brightened. "Where are they?" he questioned hopefully.

Yormek looked to the sky. "They are here." He looked back down at the young Guardian. "Though I think that you have already been at their side, young Knuckles Ko-Yeq. But now you will finally hear them speak."

"Huh?" He echidna squinted in puzzlement. "What do you mean?" He jumped as a tremor sounded from the rock behind him, spinning around and backing away from the Colossi. His purple gaze flitted about fearfully as the statues continued to tremble, the shockwaves spreading to the other stone figures spaced about the clearing. The old man placed a firm hand on his shoulder keeping him where he was. He looked up at him questioningly. Yormek wasn't even passing him a glance, his black sight pinned to the Colossi before them. His weathered face was split with a wide grin.

Loose debris fell from the Colossi to the grassy floor as the tremors increased. Knuckles swore they were _moving_. His eyes went steadily wide. The statues… they _were_ moving! Slowly they unfurled from their sitting positions, stone fists descending from the knees to rest on the ground. The two before him shifted to a kneeling position, looking down upon them with faces crafted from age-old rock. He could only gawp.

"See, Guardian," said Yormek in reverence, squeezing his shoulder in reassurance. "This is true holy ground. What stands here before you are your bearers." He looked down at him. Knuckles met his gaze with a glaze of confusion and disbelief mirrored in his eyes. "Step forward and you will see that it is true. You have always felt comfort here, haven't you? A presence of benevolence? I have seen you come here many times, always to the same stone figures." He reverted his gaze back to the now-moving monoliths. "Go speak to them, Guardian." He gave the small echidna a slight push towards the Colossi.

Knuckles just stared, unsure of what to think.

The left Colossus reached for him, putting out a gargantuan hand of rock. The massive fingers touched against him with a gentleness that one would never have thought capable by such a being. The Guardian of the Chaos Emeralds gripped at the hand, trembling from head to toe. He couldn't form words…

--**_…child…_**--

For all his strength, Knuckles broke, falling to his knees to weep at the feet of his parents.

- - -

How about that? A bit of a slow start, maybe, but it gets better. Tell me what you think, this is probably very different to what I've written before for all you folks hooked on the 'Macabre Twins' story string. So please, R & R. Flame if you want, they'll be used to power my microwave.


	2. I:ii A Red Toast To Your Good Fortune

Disclaimers: Knuckles and all the other freaks all belong to the Sonic Team and Yuji Naka.

But everything besides is mine. Including Yormek.

What's this? An early update? Hell has frozen over! The end is nigh! (No, not really.) Naw, I just thought you'd all like to read the second chapter before finals completely consume my brain and temporaily reduce me to a blubbering zombie. Those of you not familiar with my style of story-telling should get a pretty good idea of it in this chapter. I had plenty of fun writing it.

Thank you all for your reviews thus far, I'm glad this is turning out to be different then what has been put up before.

Also, if any of you spy literary errors of any kind in my fics, please do not hesitate to _tell me and __**point them out to me**_. I highly appreciate such pointers, as anyone would agree that no number of self-proof reading will weed out all the mistakes. It's considerably more difficult to find mistakes in one's own work than another's. (It's true. It stands for art, music, and countless other things. Fics are no exception.)

* * *

CHAPTER II: A RED TOAST TO YOUR GOOD FORTUNE 

Knuckles cried for all his worth, littering the earth below with the salt of his tears. The great Colossi, kneeling over him protectively, constructions he never thought twice of, were his sires and bearers. He gripped at the gargantuan stone hands that surrounded him in attempts of comfort, incredibly overjoyed, but saddened to an inch of his life. They had been here all this time… So close! He had come here on countless occasions, but had never thought, never considered that the statues he stood by were a part of him.

He was happy that he had found those that had given him his life; but at the same time, he was appalled that he had never noticed them… and that they were so far from what he had expected. The Guardian shook his head as he wept, still unsure of what he was seeing. Was it true? Were these monoliths his parents?

--**_…don't despair, child…_**-- came the voice of one of the Colossi kneeling above him. Its voice was distinctly female. His mother.

--**_…we understand your confusion…_**-- came the second, this one masculine. His father.

He had so many questions! But he couldn't speak for the life of him.

"They are trapped here," said Yormek from just beyond. "They could never leave to see you at the shrine itself."

Knuckles choked. "But… why?"

--**_…Chaos keeps us here, child…_**-- replied his father.

--**_…we have been wanting to speak with you for so long…_**-- echoed his mother.

The echidna looked up at them with a forlorn expression, mammoth tears streaking down his face.

The other Colossi in the clearing were watching with interest and sadness. --**_…do not cry, child…_**-- pleaded his mother. --**_…we have always loved you since the day you were born… …when you first returned to us, we were so happy…_**--

--**_…though we could not speak to you as you did us, we gave you what we could…_**-- added his father.

"I'm… I'm so sorry…" he sobbed.

**--_…there is no reason for you to be, son…_--**

"But I… I should have c-come more…" He could barely see his vision was swimming so badly from the sheer number of tears flooding from his eyes.

His mother shushed him gently. **--…_there was no way for you to know… …but now you may come to see us, and know who we are…_--**

**--…_we have Yormek to thank for bringing you here… …it was not easy for him to reach you upon the Island…_--**

He passed a look to the pig-faced man, who in turn gave him a weary grin.

The Colossi all around were watching keenly, happy for the one couple that had managed against all odds to communicate with their offspring. Most were saddened as well, as the rest of them had never been so fortunate.

He remained with them until the midnight hours finally passed. The living colossi were then forced back to their unmoving state, sitting placidly upon the field, looking out to space.

Knuckles' face was raw from the lingering salt left behind from a rare round of crying. He simply sat on the grass, unbelieving in what he had just experienced. He had met his parents! He wasn't all alone after all!

Yormek shambled up to him after a glance to the heavens. The clouds had begun to gather, blotting out all the meagre light of the moon and stars. There would be a storm, most likely, and the Guardian had best return to the Shrine to keep dry. If he returned, the malevolence of the Emeralds could possibly be waylaid…

"Come, Guardian," he said softly. "You had best go back to the Altar. The Chaos aren't forgiving in tardiness."

"How is this possible, Yormek?" Knuckles questioned back, still sitting on the green. "Why?"

The elder being tilted his head to one side slightly. "That… is a difficult question, Guardian," he answered at length. "One that requires a steadfast heart and a ready mind, to accept the answer."

He turned a little to face him. "What do you mean?"

"Come," he motioned for him to stand and follow him out of the clearing. "Such questions are best asked elsewhere."

The red echidna remained sitting for a while longer, returning his gaze to the very still form of his parents before finally standing and following after the stooped old man.

Much of the walk back to the Shrine was doused in silence. Knuckles couldn't voice many of his inquiries to the one figure that seemed to know everything he didn't, and Yormek didn't offer any solutions of his own volition. The forest steadily disappeared behind them, replaced by the rolling plains that surrounded the resting place of the Emeralds for kilometres on all sides. The scarlet animal didn't want to leave his parents behind. Now that he knew they were there, he wanted to be with them for as long as possible, regardless of whether or not they would be able to respond to him. For the first time in his life he had found something more important to himself than the preservation of the Emeralds.

A roll of thunder crashed distantly on the far cliffs, reaching their ears well after the blast of light that speared the sky to the east.

"This is where I leave you, Guardian," said the older of the two as the outline of the Shrine came into view upon the hills. "I will see you again, but for now I must advise you to put all that you have seen and felt tonight out of your mind for the betterment of your health and happiness."

He stopped walking. "Why?"

Yormek stopped as well. "The Chaos will not take kindly to your happiness. They are malicious and hold no love for other beings with the exception of themselves. If they believe your revelation to have a detrimental effect upon your treatment of them, they will do all in their power to reverse it, and bring you back down to misery." He saw the other shake his head in confusion. "It is true. It is because of them you have no freedom. The less you have for yourself, the more they will gain for their own uses from you. I realise I am asking a great deal from you to forget what you have just experienced, but you must push it away. If you don't, it will be taken from you by force."

"But why?" he demanded heatedly. "Why would the Emeralds do that? I was put here to protect them, and that's what I do. What could possibly be wrong with what I feel aside from them?"

It was Yormek's turn to shake his head. "You don't understand, as I would expect. You are too young yet to fully grasp what it is that truly happens here." He passed a glance to the Shrine far ahead. "The horrors that have been performed here in the glory of the power of the Forgotten Gods would permanently taint your mind."

"What do you mean? What 'horrors'?"

"Too many questions, Guardian!" he scolded. "Keep your inquiries at bay for a while longer, I beg of you!"

"But--"

"I will tell you everything when the time comes, but not now! Knowledge is a powerful tool, but it can drive a man insane when given at the wrong time. At a stage like this, one such as you would fall to the lowest pit of mentality upon learning of the history of this most disgusting place; and I will not be the one to reduce you to a drivelling fool before you can do something with what I will tell you."

Knuckles stared at the other for a long stretch, evaluating his words. "Then… when? When can I know? You tell me all of this in riddles and half-statements, I should already be going mad from the lack of information you tease me with!"

"The time will come, Knuckles Ko-Yeq. It will come, and when it does, I will be sure to tell you everything." He took a deep breath as another crash of nature's power flashed through the air. "With luck, you will be able to use it to better ends than me." He put a hand to his back and shuffled to face back to where they had come. "Farewell for now, Guardian. I will come to you again."

"When?" he questioned hurriedly. "Tomorrow?"

Yormek looked behind him at the youth. "No. Much later. The Chaos will be watching closely, since I have come to you at all. Not until their vigil has fallen lax, will I be at freedom to speak to you a second time." He started away into the fields. "Keep yourself guarded, Ko-Yeq!"

Knuckles almost considered running after him. A flash of lightning blinded the red echidna for a moment. When the glare died away, the old man was gone from sight.

- - -

The storm lasted throughout much of the night, the fabled Island of paradise standing to be pelted by the force of the rains until daybreak when the skies finally cleared.

The red Guardian sat upon the crumbling steps of the Master Emerald's altar, head on his fist, contemplating the nature of his current position. He had been keeping his mind clear of the previous night's events as Yormek had told him, though it was awfully difficult. How could he stop himself from being happy?

Though he could feel a difference in the atmosphere over the Shrine now. It was heavier than he had ever felt it, almost oppressive. He could feel a force, like a constant, eager stare, bearing down on him since he had returned to the ancient building. It made him feel insecure and very naked, as if he could hide nothing. Could what the old man been telling him be true?

He didn't know, nor did he have any way of telling the true from the false. There was too much margin for error at this point to sift through what little he had gained from the pig-faced man in order to gain anything of real use to ease his own mounting discomfort.

It was never until now that he had ever questioned the nature of his place upon the world to the extent that he was now. Why was he really here? What was being held away from him? By whom? Why were his pa-- He stopped himself promptly. He couldn't go there, not yet. Yormek would tell him everything, he had promised. He hoped the old coot would live up to his word.

Knuckles glanced over his shoulder to the mouth of the Shrine, getting annoyed at the constant feeling of being watched so shamelessly. He tried to search out the owner of the gaze in the shadows beyond the stone arch, certain that something so powerful could only come from a material creature. He scanned the aging stone with his sharp amethyst sight, challenging what dwelt there. The unseen assault beat back at him without remorse, throwing his challenge back at him. He finally stood up and walked away from the steps. He needed some fresh air, some free space for a few moments.

The feeling of being stared at relentlessly never seemed to leave, though it lessened the further he went. He walked to the forests to the west, forwards from the face of the Shrine. He made a point to stay away from the Colossi clearing for the next small while, as he guessed with this current change in ambience that it would be for the best. The plains that surrounded the Shrine were spotted once every so often by giant spear-shaped rocks that jutted out of the earth. Most were laying on their sides or were in pieces, covered in rogue grass. Some still stood, albeit at an angle. He wondered at how they could have gotten there. They didn't look at all like they belonged. The slowly approaching line of trees was thick and green. He let himself inside the boundary with little hesitation. He could hear birds singing and squawking in the thick canopy high above. It made him feel better.

The light of the sun filtered down in small streams between the heavy canopies, pocking the forest floor with tiny spotlights of the golden beams. The trees here were ancient, covered in mosses and lichen that were older than himself. Massive boulders could occasionally be seen beneath their green covering of moulds and whatnot, standing out between the tree trunks either alone or in trios.

Despite the fact that he could hear the birds sing, the wood was strangely quiet. It was as if someone had turned off all the noise with some kind of remote.

He stopped in his walk. Why did it seem so odd to him?

The feeling of being scrutinised returned with merciless force. He spun around on impulse, hoping to catch who was responsible.

He found nothing.

What was going on? He tried to focus on his walk, and enjoy the wood. He turned back and tried to walk further into the calming forest.

Knuckles hadn't gone two steps when a yellow thrush, twittering away, flew directly in front of him. He stopped to watch it fly. The bird circled about him. It continued to sing as it went.

After a few moments, the thrush suddenly stopped singing. With an awkward tweak to its flight path, the tiny bird hurtled itself into a tree. The body fell to the earth, unmoving. The bird was dead.

The red Guardian was appalled. He rushed up to the tiny form, hoping his sight was playing tricks on him. The diminutive bird laid on the green motionlessly, its head nearly smashed in completely.

He could feel the unseen stare strengthen.

Knuckles turned and ran through the wood back to the fields towards the Shrine. The wind of his run rushed past him as he dashed, making his dreadlocks fly. The rocks of the Emeralds' Shrine slowly rose over the hills as he came steadily closer, as if mocking him. He squinted as he ran, he could just see… something. In the mouth of the entry to the Altar, there was something out of place. A pair of them. He nearly staggered to a halt as he realised what he was looking at.

A pair of vile green eyes stared back at him from the shadows of the Shrine's door, vertical pupils contracted to nearly nothing.

He yelled. The eyes, several feet off the ground in the darkness, blinked and vanished, leaving the entryway empty. Knuckles ran to the arch of stone leading down into the depths of the Floating Island, stopping just before its boundary of shadow. There was something wet pooled on the stones, leading into the catacombs. Whatever had been standing there but a moment before must have made it. Without a second thought he rushed into the blackness, bent on catching what he had seen. He had been inside the catacombs many times during his time here, and he thus possessed no fear of its darkness. His eyes adjusted quickly as he ran, the trail of wetness revealed to him in the dark. He followed it from the corner of his vision, keeping the majority of his sight focussed on catching even a glimpse of whatever had been standing on his territory so shamelessly. The steps of the inner Shrine lead downwards continuously, the small slick of wet leading him. Ahead he could see nothing past the next forty steps. No torches lit the interior, there had never been any, and there were no supportive rings to place them should there be the want.

The bottom of the flight neared, placing the Guardian on level ground. He didn't pause in the slightest, rocketing onwards with the guidance of the wet trail. The short hallway dumped him into a wide chamber spotted with blue blocks of stone. He wound amongst them, following the trespasser's path in the dark. The trail lead into a corner covered by the ungiving shadows. He slowed to a stop, glaring into the darkness fiercely, demanding that whatever was hiding there to come out and face him.

The blot of blackness remained unchanged before his challenge.

Getting angry, he took a step forwards, searching for anything that may give his elusive harasser away. As he inched forwards confidently the shadows shrank back, freeing more to his view. He stopped a second time as he caught sight of something twitch in the hidden corner. He stood straight, fists tightened. He stared the darkness down. "Come out," he ordered to whatever was there.

A low, breath-like sound answered him. It stretched onwards for several seconds before dying away to nothing.

He waited. The darkness did not move again. "I said come out," he restated. "Do so, or I will drag you out!"

Something scraped against the ancient stone amongst the shadows, and the unseen form shifted ever so slightly.

Knuckles gritted his teeth. "Come out!" he shouted. Taking another long step forwards.

The blackness receded in all but a single, tall place. A second long breath sounded, laden and heavy.

The tall shadow, the blackness, twitched bodily. With several snaps of aging bone being moved against old age, the darkness turned. The blackness, a shawl of thick, matted, mangy hair towering over him, rotated in place to face the Guardian. He could only gasp as the horrible green gaze materialised to stare him down.

All he remembered was the awful pair of eyes as something huge and tipped with monster sized claws barrelled out from the black body and smashed into him, sending him sailing through the air to crash into the far wall, where he collapsed into his own darkness.

- - -

He was cold when he awoke.

He was outside. The sky was violet in colour, the wind vicious. The trees, black against the sky, bent and swayed so far they ought to have snapped from the strain and been carried away through the air. The grass rippled like the waves of the distant sea.

How the wind howled! He stood up unsteadily, why did his head hurt so much?

Red lightning arched through the sky, lancing between the clouds but never touching the earth.

His legs shook as he stood upon the dark grass. Where was everyone? He looked to the Shrine, where the Seven rested. The fresh stones, standing defiantly against the winds, were just as dark and foreboding as everything around them. He staggered away from the edifice, his feet carrying him across the rippling fields. He headed for the Holy Place, that is where his people would surely be.

Progress was slow, but he hurried as much as he could. The wind beat at him, pushing him off course. He ignored it and ploughed forwards. The great black stones, shaped and erected in the glory of the Gods, stood upon the grasses, markers and guides to lead him towards the others.

It wasn't long until he could see the ring of worship standing starkly against the swirling sky. Maybe if he prayed the bad weather would go away.

The sacred ring was full of folk, he could just see. He smiled a little, he had found them. He pushed forwards as well as he could, eager to see his friends and family. He passed more of the black standing stones, his pace pathetic. He could see someone coming up to meet him. Who was that? He couldn't quite recognise…

The newcomer stumbled towards him, gasping for breath, tears streaking down his face. Something dark was flowing down the sides of his mouth. Some of his dreadlocks looked to have been torn off. The pink of the flesh beneath the fur glared out at him, streaked with raw red. What was this?

"Run!" wheezed the figure, tripping on the grass as he came, miraculously staying on his feet. "Run! Run away! They've betrayed us! The Gods lied! They've come to kill us all!"

- - -

Knuckles jolted upon the ancient stones, shifting painfully on the floor of the chamber. He could hear a whistling.

Had he just… had a nightmare? Of what? He blinked as he tried to clear his head, hoping to grab some fragments of what he had just seen. The more he groped, the less he found, the nightly vision decaying into thin air. Aug, his body hurt! His side was on fire and his head was aching like crazy. What on earth had happened? He staggered to his feet and headed for the steps leading to the outside. The whistling became louder. The Guardian slowed his advance up the stone steps, picking up his pace again upon recognising the noise to be that of the wind. What time was it?

He remembered chasing something… but what? It had gone into the catacombs… then… Aug, he couldn't remember! His head hurt too much!

The sky was nearly black when he finally emerged from the Shrine's interior. The wind was howling like mad and the rain was coming down harder than hail. Some of the grasses had flooded, their blades waving in the raising water level. Puddles had formed about the Altar, flowing down onto the steps and into the dark Shrine between the crags of the building stones. What a storm! Lightning shot from the clouds to the earth in wild sprays of light, bathing the entire plain in white for the split of a second. Knuckles had one hand on his side and one on his head, trying to somehow stem the flow of pain that had developed by some unknown event that currently escaped his recollection. Had he fallen down the stairs, maybe? Naw, he woke up laying too far from the steps to support that guess.

Two massive, blue-white arches of electricity lanced from the black clouds to the earth in rapid succession, stabbing the far horizon to the south. Their light was brilliant. The claps of thunder that followed nearly drove him to his knees.

The red echidna staggered to a mildly dry spot amongst the downpour, curling up there to hopefully escape the pain burning his form. Rest swiftly took him, the feeling of being watched chasing him to a fitful sleep.

- - -

Morning brought him back to wakefulness with a blaring of light behind his eyelids. Knuckles shifted painfully on the stones of the Altar, rolling over in hopes of stemming the glow. Unfortunately, the light of day wouldn't be so easily thwarted. He propped himself up sluggishly, groaning to himself as he sat up at long last. His head felt better, as did his side, the heavy aches reduced to a minor throb that came up if he bent the wrong way.

The sun had only just begun to rise. Its golden face had cleared the Island's horizon, and its light was beating merrily upon the soggy ground. The morning warmth banished the cool wetness of the storm that had ravaged the paradise but mere hours before, making everything seem a little better.

It had been over a whole day since he had last seen Yormek, and he was beginning to wonder if the old fart was ever going to come back. Of course, he reminded himself, it had only been one day. Knuckles was by nature impatient and not very inclined to wait for anything. He wanted the man to tell him his answers. He had teased him with his knowledge all of the day before last, and he very much wanted in on all the hubbub. If there was something wrong with his Island, he wanted to know as soon as possible, so he could fix the problem.

And what of that strange animal that had chased him through the woods the night before last? Was it still on the Island as well? He scanned the fields around his position automatically, searching for anything out of place. Only plains greeted him, the little blades of grass waving in the slight breeze languidly. No beast. No Yormek. He relocated to the steps of the Shrine, head in his hands. He sighed out of boredom like he usually did.

He found himself wondering how the others were doing. Was Sonic busy saving the world for the umpteenth time? Was Tails making another marvel of flying technology? Was Amy trying yet another scheme in attempts to attain the blue blur's hand in marriage? He laid back with a snort. Nothing so interesting, he was sure. Maybe Eggman would stop by and make things a little less boring with his antics of world domination.

Pfft. Fat chance. That lot wouldn't come within ten miles of here unless they had to.

He tried to keep his mind occupied, without straying into dangerous territory. He could still feel that horrible gaze… He compulsively glanced behind himself. Nothing.

The hole leading to the Floating Island's interior held his gaze hypnotically. Something was bothering him immensely. Why had he fallen unconscious in the chamber below? Had he been struck by something? He wracked his brain for an answer, anything. Still nothing came forwards. Had it been an animal? No, it couldn't have been. The largest creatures here were the wading birds, and none of them ever came close to the Shrine. He was the only thing here on two legs or more that could even qualify as dangerous.

Knuckles stood up as he looked into the archway, rubbing his head a little. He couldn't have just tripped, he wasn't a klutz, unlike some other people he knew. He had come to notice that the two-tailed fox had a habit of falling over himself when trying to impress his blue idol. He smirked. The expression faded quickly.

He put a hand to his mouth in contemplation, wondering over the current events turning his normally incredibly dull life upside down. As he continued to stare into the shadows of the catacombs, his stomach clenched, as if in attempt to ward him away. Why? He had gone down there countless times, and had found nothing but rocks and dust. Why would he be afraid of the lower levels?

Against what could be called his better judgement, he stalked away from the front steps and towards the mouth of the Shrine, glaring down into its depths in angry defiance. He was Guardian here, and a Guardian knew no fear, regardless of the circumstances. He was master of this place. To prove this to is wavering innards he started down the stairs, maybe his mind would be kicked to remember what happened if he went back down there.

He reached the chamber at the base of the stairs swiftly enough, it was the first of many in the catacombs, and by far not the largest. As he swept the area he hoped something about yesterday would come to him. His head ached distantly, but nothing else. He searched the area in feeble optimism, but nothing but the throb answered his want for enlightenment. Giving up on the first chamber he opted to go further to pass the time. The tall hallways lead him away from the chamber and into the next, much larger stone cage. Raised trenches lined the place in mathematical precision, probably to hold water at one point. Faucets made of stone and shaped into gargoyle heads jutted from the walls above the trench ways, to fill them, he guessed.

Knuckles waltzed up to the nearest trench and angled his pointed head to look into it. The rock was stained and dark from whatever had once been inside. Water didn't leave such marks. Tar, maybe? Pitch for lighting up the place? But that would be dangerous, with the faucets and all, the flames would travel upwards and burn the building to the ground. Or at least make it collapse by burning the mortar that held the Shrine together. He peered suspiciously at the gargoyle head that hung above the trench. The false creature's face was streaked with the same dark stain, streaking from the hole of a mouth and the slits in the eyes. He snorted dismissively and continued on his way.

The trenches lead him to the next chamber, which was even grander than the last. The waterways interwove through this room too, lacing through each other like a spider's web. Great columns of stone decorated with age-old markings he couldn't even hope to understand stood all about, holding the chamber's roof aloft under the pressure of the earth. This room, as far as he could tell, was the largest of the lot. It was so large he hadn't even explored all of it yet. He got the general idea of its appearance, though.

In the chamber's very centre stood a fountain-like altar with three stone plates levelled over one another. The largest sat at the bottom, levied from the ground by only a foot or so. Four circular depressions in the stone, spaced evenly apart, where all that marred the surface. That, and the same dark stains that occupied the trenches. Only here they were uneven and layered like vaporised watery mud. He had no idea of what could have caused such an unsightly mess. The first plate was well over twenty feet in circumference, the one above only half its size. This one sported three depressions, and was just as heavily stained as the one below. The final level was only marginally larger than the width of his shoulders, but was several feet up. He had climbed to the top once, to get a better view of the room, and had found that it had a single, larger depression than the others in its exact middle.

The purpose of the fountain-like structure had always eluded him, but from its highly ornamental make, he could tell it was important. Perhaps it had been used in some festival, or a ritual of some kind. He placed his gloved hands upon the rock, feeling the surface. The stone was cold and rough, time not at all being kind.

He ran his hands over the surface, brushing away the timeless dust that had collected there hundreds of years ago. As he pushed the grime away the old stains left behind from who- or whatever became darker and new ridges and markings became visible upon the construction's surface. He stared at these new scratchings. They were bunched together tightly, as if they were meant to be words. This, writing? Naw… He took a good look anyways.

Some of the scratches, nothing more than lines, some curved and others not, repeated at intervals, sometimes in groups, sometimes not. Words, maybe? He wasn't sure of what he was seeing. He continued to brush the dust away, oddly intrigued. More of the lines came into view, accompanied by small markings that looked like very basic pictograms. One of them looked very much like the Emeralds. He stopped and considered this new find.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up in a chill as the feeling of being watched washed over him. He froze, his gaze darting about. He stood stock still, waiting for any sign of movement. Silence.

Sweat swiftly beaded upon his brow as he waited, his chest twisting and his stomach falling to a new low. His grip upon the rock fountain tightened, his nerve slowly giving way to an odd sense of fear.

He swore the gaze was from something physical, another person. He could feel it move about as it kept itself trained on him. He could feel it circling around him from behind, inching slowly.

If he had been any less rock-headed than he was, he would have wet himself and run screaming from the place, waving his arms like a lunatic. Unfortunately he wasn't very inclined to run, regardless of the circumstances threatening him. The stare was directly behind him. Whatever possessed it had stopped moving. Still, no sound gave away what or precisely where the owner of the intruding gaze might be. How far? How near? He couldn't tell.

Knuckles angled his head ever so slightly, hardly moving in the slightest. He trained his gaze as well as he could, small sparks flying about his vision from his attempts to practically see out the other side of his head.

Not enough, he still couldn't see what he knew was behind him.

A breeze filtered through the chamber from the outside high above, a rare occurrence. Carrying with it was the distinct reek of burning wood.

A fire? He whirled around in surprise, catching sight of something else as he turned. He gawped. A single, silver, dead eye stared at him from the gloom, whatever owned it still hidden in the darkness. He held the gaze for several long seconds, before it began to move, wavering from side to side, getting bigger.

He finally realised that whatever was in the shadows was coming towards him, and fast. He could hear breathing. Yelping, he dashed for the way he had come, the glassy orb hot on his heels. He could hear the soft footfalls of his pursuer. The padding was oddly uneven, as if the thing behind him was injured. But that didn't seem to be of any consequence, as the unknown thing was very much gaining on him.

The Guardian shot by the second chamber and into the first, charging up the stairs with his heart hammering in his ears. The smell of smoke was much more powerful now.

The moment he broke the surface he launched himself into the air. He felt a rush of air as something swished past his legs in a flurry. He threw his gaze downwards as he gained altitude. His blood ran cold as he caught sight of a skinny black limb thrashing crazily in the light before disappearing back into the darkness of the Shrine.

There was something on the Island that he was sure didn't belong.

He swivelled his head to the south as the rank stench of smoke hit him full in the face. There! A tall column of wispy grey rose up from the forests, dissipating into the air a good few miles up. The storm last night must have sparked a forest fire. He should have noticed it sooner! He immediately angled his descent towards the dark curtain in the sky, hoping he would be able to stop whatever was raging on his Island.

As he came nearer, his mind began to race. The smoke was billowing up from the area that held the Colossi! He gasped and willed himself to glide faster.

The earth below swept by in a green carpet, dotted by the broken stones laying about the grasses.

His fears became all too real as he reached the base of the ugly pillar of smoke. The clearing that cradled his loving parents, had been ravaged by fire. There were no signs of any flames, but nonetheless the damage had already been done. Much of the grass was gone and the trees all around were reduced to mere skeletons.

Knuckles landed in the clearing with little regard for his own health, coughing lightly in the haze. The smoke, though still thick, was mercifully beginning to fade. He could still see some stray embers flying up into the sky as a thoroughly eaten tree collapsed and fell to the ground with a crash. The Guardian was rushing trough the clearing in moments, looking for one thing and one thing only. His parents.

The distinct sound of sobbing reached his ears as he ran, making him suspicious, but not slowing his dash. Through the choking haze he finally caught sight of something he recognised.

"Yormek!"

The old man gazed up at him in surprise. His face was streaked with tears and soot. Small rivulets of blood were worming from the corners of his mouth. He was on his knees, sitting before… where his parents should have been.

An ugly crater at least thirty feet across squatted where the Colossi had been but just over a day ago. The red echidna took in the sight in absolute disbelief, mouth open.

The pig-headed elder fought to his feet, his poncho-like robes soaked with something dark. His hands were red around his staff. He took one step before falling to the ground. "Guardian…" he rasped, tears streaming down his wrinkled cheeks. He rose a hand as the other rushed towards him.

"Yormek what happened?" he questioned urgently.

"Guardian… I'm sorry… so sorry…" He choked and coughed. "I couldn't stop them… The Chaos assaulted the Colossi… the lightning--" another fit of coughs halted his broken speech. Fresh red flew out from between his teeth with every breath.

Knuckles had a brief recollection of the two brilliant strikes of lightning but last night arching to the earth…

"They struck them… took anyone who tried to help…" More coughing. "I tried to keep them away… but they… they were too fast for me… Chaos…" He fought for breath. "I'm sorry… your parents… your parents are dead…"

- - -

Ooh... what now?

I'm cruel, I know. Not to worry, there is reason for it. Nothing's gratuitous in my fics. With exception to the humourous ones.


	3. I:iii A cruel Twist Of Fate's Bullet

Disclaimers: Knuckles and his 'buddies' all belong to the Sonic Team and Yuji Naka.

But Yormek, The Beast, and everything else belongs to **ME**.

Some more strnage for you all. Something went oddly wrong while I was writing this, and it didn't seem to turn out as nicely as I thought it would have. ...Myabe I can fix it later.

Thanks, all, for your help in spotting grammar errors! I really appreciate it. The first few chapters have been edited, and hopefully I've caught most of the mistakes you folks have pointed out.

Anyway, let the wierdness commence. Steel yourselves! There will be some violence in this chapter, a bit of blood, but nothing too bad.

* * *

CHAPTER III: A CRUEL TWIST OF FATE'S BULLET

"…Dead…?"

Yormek hacked heavily in the Guardian's arms, slowly removing himself from the other's grip to rest on the ashen grass. "Y-yes… -cough- …I-I'm sorry…" He laid on his back, taking great drags of air through his beaten lungs.

Knuckles couldn't think. Dead? How could they be dead? He had just met them… How… how could his have happened? It wasn't right! It wasn't fair! His eyes were stinging, from the smoke or the oncoming flood of tears, he didn't know nor did he care. He scoured the ugly crater that now stood where his parents had been but thirty hours ago from where he was. The smouldering hole in the ground was lined with still glowing embers from the strike. Bits and pieces of rock littered the pit, whether they were from the statues, or the earth he didn't hazard to guess or even speculate.

The tears were flowing freely now. With a watery gaze he looked beyond the ugly hole to the Colossi still standing about its border. One pair had been ravaged terribly, one of the set still standing but the other half blasted to nothing. The rock uncovered from the sheering assault was so black it was nearly red. The fallen's partner sat by itself now, its face contorted in sadness. Dark streaks arched from the closed stone eyes to the body. A head of another statue had been thrown from a body to the far side of the clearing to smash into the figure of a separate Colossus a good fifty yards away. The stone torso was reduced to pebbles on one side, a strange dark swathe seemingly leaking over the body were the insane wound had taken residence. Similar dark stains could be seen lining the face from the mouth downwards. This one's partner as well seemed to be swallowed in grief. These and so many others had been effected by the result of the storm. He could see a pair, where all that remained was their lower halves, any sign of their upper bodies lost to sight. Another was split right down the middle, one side crashing into its permanent partner who had been then knocked to the ground in a heap.

Even those unharmed by the event showed signs of grievance. The once peaceful faces were twisted in sorrow, the odd dark streaks lining their faces as would tears.

The red Guardian staggered slightly as he took it all in. "I'm sorry…" he whispered to them all. "It's my fault… I'm sorry…" He fell to his knees.

Yormek coughed on the ground. "No, Guardian!" he wheezed forcefully. "None of this -cough- is your fault!" He fought with himself on the ground, trying desperately to get into some kind of standing position, and failing utterly. "Never think that this is your fault!"

"What am I supposed to think?!" Knuckles cried incredulously. He could barely see the tears were so thick over his eyes. "They were attacked!"

"Not because of you!" Yormek writhed like a worm. "Chaos is responsible!" He was downed by a fit of coughing. "Always Chaos! They would have done it sooner or later… they are unforgiving to those whom they think stand in their way…" He wheezed heavily as he fought into a semi-sitting position.

"But…"

"No. It has nothing to do with you…" He coughed into his hand, he pulled it away to see nothing but red. He spat out a glob of blood in disgust. "Though now… You may become the centre of it all."

Knuckles stared at him hopelessly.

"I have no choice…" he wheezed. He struggled to is feet. "This must stop. I should have taken action much sooner… But that cannot be helped."

The Guardian stood up as well, though was unsure of what Yormek meant.

"You… you will have to undo all that the past has made… To free yourself and all of those you know." He leant on his staff and hacked at the ground. "Chaos -cough- Chaos won't be satisfied with only the Island, they'll f-cough-find a way off and beyond soon enough. And when that happens…" He trailed off into another fit. He shambled over to the Guardian. "You are not yet of age, but I cannot let you remain a sheep ready for slaughter. The Chaos know that you are not only their puppet anymore. For that they will attempt to destroy you."

"W-why?" he quailed.

"You know too much… Their secrets, as foul as they are, are no longer safe for as long as you live."

"I don't want to know!" he shouted miserably. "I don't want this to happen!"

Yormek gave him a pitying look. "I know, Guardian… but it is too late for that. Innocence can no longer protect you. You must either learn and fight, or lay with your face to the earth and await execution by the same that killed all the Guardians before you and your parents."

Knuckles clutched at his ears and shouted. "No! No more! No more eyes! No more death! Make it stop!"

The pig-headed man frowned instantly. "What eyes?" he demanded forcefully.

The red echidna froze at the force in the other's voice. His tears wouldn't stop flowing.

"Please, Guardian! Tell me!"

He choked on his own breath in mounting delirium. "I saw… I saw eyes yesterday and just now--"

"What kind of eyes? Did you see the bodies? To whom did they belong? You must tell me!"

Knuckles cringed under the elder's empowered words. "I-I d-don't know… Th-there was a g-green pair, a-and a single w-white one."

Yormek's face was nearly white it was so pale. "You're sure?" The Guardian nodded. The swine-headed figure slumped to the ground, his staff falling from his hands. "Heavens… It has already begun…"

"What are you talking about?" he half-shouted. All of this was slowly driving him crazy. "What is going on?!"

"By all that is good… I'm sorry, Guardian…" breathed Yormek. He gazed up at him with a truly forlorn, and piteous expression. "But…" He suddenly stood up, and shambled past the echidna towards the remaining Colossi.

Knuckles remained where he was, trying to dry his eyes. His mind was running in confused loops and he had no idea of how to make sense of everything. His entire world had been turned upside down and shattered in less than two days time. The old man's wail made him jump, he spun around and bolted towards the sound. Several grieving pairs of Colossi sped past him as he rushed for the fallen form of Yormek.

The creature was on his knees, clutching at his head and moaning a terrible sound. "No… NO!" he cried to the sky. The pair of Colossi sitting before him were twisted in portrayals of suffering, the dark stains thicker and more visible than upon those around them. It was hardly moments before both of the statues suddenly cracked and crumbled into nothing but a mess of decorative stones with a dull crash.

The Guardian stopped in his dash to see that some kind of black ooze was gushing forth from the still standing bases of the murdered Colossi. The stuff soaked into the grass and meandered about the immediate space between the tiny pebbles in the ground. Yormek slugged to his feet, his staff on the ground. He leaned and bent forwards, putting out his hands as if in shock. He pushed the gnarled appendages into the black mess as it bubbled and consumed what little remained of the dead couple. The old man dredged his hands back upwards, dribbling with the ooze up to his wrists. In his grasp was some kind of rock. It bubbled and hissed in the air venomously. The pig-faced man sighed in defeat, hanging his head in some display of shame. He slowly turned to face Knuckles, his face ashen. "Guardian…"

He could say nothing, uncomprehending the sight before him.

"You… They mean to kill you…" He held out the object he had taken from the ravaged statues, making it dribble and ooze all about the pristine grass. "This… Is your successor."

The echidna just gawped and shook his head in disbelief. "What…?"

Yormek spun around as the horrible howl from the night before rose from the distance. He hobbled a few steps, eyes searching. "No… not now!" He spun around. "Guardian!" Knuckles didn't respond, drowned in a torpid stupor. "Guardian!" he shouted. The creature looked up at him balefully. "You must run! Go! Leave this place! Leave the Island! Your very life now depends on it!"

"But… but I can't… I can't leave…"

He stepped up to him. "Yes you can, Knuckles. You always could. Chaos' power over you only delves as deep as you let it. Their hold over you is weak! They believe you to be their fawning slave, if you rise up now, their grip upon your freedom will shatter."

Still he just stood there. The howl sounded a second time, much closer.

Yormek shook the youth forcefully. "Please, Guardian! You must run! If you don't, The Beast will surely catch you!" A third howl, even closer. The sound seemed warped, as if not entirely animal. The pig-faced man looked at what he held in his hand. The object still sizzled. Taking the echidna's hand in his own, he pressed the thing into his palm.

The burning heat wafting from the ball of rock brought Knuckles out of his pool of despair. It hurt, but Yormek wouldn't let him pull his hand away.

"Take this with you," he said.

"It burns," he replied stupidly. "I don't want it."

"Take--" A terrible growl sounded from the edge of the clearing.

Knuckles' expression was one of utter terror. Yormek turned his head slowly. His face was scrunched in a display of pure hatred. A red sheen was present in his dark eyes. The Beast stood on the threshold of the Colossi's clearing.

The old man turned to face the creature bodily, standing protectively before the red echidna.

Never before had Knuckles seen anything so horrible. It was based on four legs, its scarlet-auburn skin all but missing. Four eyes glared out of the skull, bulging like those of a frog. The face was long and pointed, with clumped tresses of what appeared to be hair hanging about the top of the head like a halo. There was something familiar about the thing… He strained to see just what, but the elder creature shifted to purposely block his view.

"Don't look at it, Guardian," hissed Yormek. The constant sound of The Beast's laboured breathing drowned out all other sounds of nature. "Ignore it's form. Think nothing of it."

"But--"

"Say nothing!" he whispered forcefully. The monster released a roar that was lost along the elements of a wheeze. It almost sounded as if there was a… voice… hidden beneath the awful sound. Yormek gripped his staff, standing with an aged, bent back as he held the shaft of wood before him as if it were a weapon. "Knuckles, you must run. The edge of the Floating Island is not far from here if you glide."

Knuckles was petrified. He stared blankly at the older figure's back, catching brief glimpses of the horrible creature in front of them as his robe billowed slightly in the weak breeze. It was staring right back at him. Long strings of pearlescent drool fell from the lipless maw in torrents. The teeth stood out from the jaw at all angles, stained and disgusting. It scratched at the ground, as if itching to get into the clearing who's border it was standing on. He wondered why it didn't charge.

Yormek kept his gaze locked on the insult of nature's beauty.

"Yormek…"

"It can't enter here… The wills of the Colossi prevent it from fouling this place with its filth." He kept his voice at a mere whisper. "But they won't be able to repel it for long. You must take this chance to run! Take the egg with you."

"What--"

"It will offer you a way to gain the answers you seek. Don't lose it. And you mustn't let The Beast take it from you."

Shaking as if struck by a bolt of lightning, The Beast took a slow step forwards, moving as if surrounded by tar. Its growls grated the ears.

"Go, Guardian!"

Knuckles didn't move, transfixed.

"GO!" he yelled, giving the youth a terrible glare from over his shoulder.

The echidna stumbled backwards, and The Beast suddenly lurched forwards, roaring and jaw open. The old man threw his gaze back towards the front as the monster sailed towards him, lifting his staff upwards to block the teeth as the ugly form ploughed into him. He fell to the ground. "RUN!" he cried.

Knuckles finally snapped and launched himself into the air, the stone in hand. The sound of wood striking flesh rang out from the clearing, and he rose into the air.

The tiny clearing slowly shrank in the distance.

Roars of fury and yells of rage drifted up from the tiny space amongst the trees, shaking the air.

Knuckles was breathing hard. His mind was spinning and it didn't seem that it would be slowing any time soon. Yormek had bough him time to escape, but he wondered how long it would be before The Beast got away from him. It had mowed him down like a brittle twig.

He gasped in shock. He couldn't leave the old man! That freak would kill him! Though fear was devouring his gut and screaming at him to simply leave, he performed a tight U-turn and headed back, blood hammering in his ears.

The smoke from the crater was still strong, blocking out much of the echidna's sight. He landed with hardly any care for his safety, the span of flat grass strangely silent. He ran towards where he had left the pig-headed creature. He could see a figure laying on the green. Knuckles ran. Why wasn't he moving? "Yormek!" he called. He would carry the man to safety. He needed him.

Knuckles slowed to a stop, his fevered brain steadily piecing together the more than obvious clues set before him to answer why the old man wasn't moving.

The elder's clothing was soaked with red, long scores lining the body inches deep. The staff was broken into splinters, still grasped defiantly in the figure's hand, which was laying several feet from the body in a pool of scarlet. Knuckles could only stare, inching every closer to the carnage that had become the pig-faced elder's body, uncomprehending. "Yormek?" The man's face was smeared in red, the throat all but completely gone. Deep gashes in the belly exposed the delicate inner workings in thin strips.

Never in all his days had the echidna seen anything so terrible. He had never before now seen the ravages of violent death. Eggman had never killed anybody…

Yormek's body was surrounded by a sea of his own blood.

Never seen anything like this… So horrible… Knuckles was so stunned he couldn't properly process what his eyes were seeing. He felt terribly ill… His eyes burned.

--_**…CaN't yoU sEe?…**_--

Knuckles angled his head to look behind him. The Beast stood not ten feet away from him, grinning an eternal grin. The four eyes, spaced irregularly about the top of the head like some mutated amphibian, stared mercilessly at him. Their dead sheen froze him in place.

He was crying all over again. Yormek was dead. His parents were dead. Why was this happening to him? "You did this…" he hissed, his voice broken.

The thing gurgled. --_**…nOooo… nOT me… yOu… YouR fAUlt… All yOur FauLt…**_--

"I didn't do this." It snorted at him. The long, black quills jutting from its back swayed. The tresses framed the face in a way that was so familiar… The skinless muscles pulsed as it clenched at the earth, its hand-like paws leaving red smears on the grasses. Blood, Yormek's blood, dribbled from its long jaws.

"Who are you?" he questioned, his system trying to come to grips with the insanity all around him. This couldn't be real…

The thing cocked its head to one side. --_**…yoU aLrEAdy KnoW me…**_--

He shook his head. "No. I've never seen you before."

It seemed to chuckle, an awful bubbling noise rising from the throat. --_**…yEs… You hAve…**_-- It flew at him, stained claws outstretched.

By some twist of luck's bone dice, the Guardian regained his senses as the monster launched itself at him. The world moved in slow-motion as he ducked and weaved beneath the hideous torso. Before the ugly thing could land and throw another attack at him, Knuckles was already in the air, gliding on the thermals of the dead crater to rise as high as possible. He had to get off the Island.

Knuckles' mind was racing in a thousand directions all at once. No one thought could dominate his mind at any one time. He couldn't think. With the rock still in his possession, he headed for the nearest cliff that dropped from the Island's edge to the world below.

He was stunned. Yormek was dead! How was he going to get his answers now? He peered at his cargo for a split second. He said that this… thing would give him answers? It was merely a rock! But he had called it an egg… How could that be? It was a rock! It was heavy, and looked plainly to be made of granite. He had seen eggs before, and this was nothing like those.

The airborne figure looked down, searching for the hideous figure that had dealt so much horror in the clearing. The trees below obscured everything. He returned his attention to the horizon. He had to think about getting away. He had never been able to leave the Island of his own freewill before, and if he was going to change that, he would have to focus. The edge of the Floating Island neared quickly, the fogged land below stretching onwards beyond. He was almost there! Just a little farther, and he would be free.

He was right at the edge, the air was cold. But… the land below wasn't getting any closer.

Knuckles looked around and saw with shock that he had landed, his brightly coloured shoes dug firmly into the grass and rock. He tried to lift them, to throw himself off the precipice, but he couldn't even muster a twitch.

--_**…fOol…**_--

He spun around, heart hammering. The Beast was but feet away from him, drooling and snarling. --_**…yOu caNnoT eSCapE… YoU arE tOo wEAk…**_--

Knuckles was sweating bullets. "I'm not weak," he defended lamely. The creature laughed and started towards him, claws scratching on the stones that pocked the green.

--_**…WeAkliNg… yoU wiLl nEveR EScaPe… yOur aNCestOrs NevEr CouLd, aNd neItHer wIll yOuR suCcessORs…**_--

The Guardian knew he was staring Death in the face, and would be nothing more than another lifeless husk on the ground if he didn't move away. Panic was flooding his brain, he couldn't think clearly. Still his feet refused to give up the earth. The Beast was not even five feet away.

What looked to be a shaft of reed flew through the sky behind the creature, arching in a precise bell-curve towards the horror. The hideous freak shrieked as a splintered piece of knotted wood embedded itself into its mangled back of thin black quills with a disgusting sound. It collapsed and writhed in pain, the Guardian forgotten. That… what… how did that happen?

"Guardian! Why aren't you running?!"

Knuckles' head snapped upwards at the voice. That was the old man! "Yormek?" But he was dead, wasn't he?

Had it been an illusion? He searched the green from his vantage as the creature howled and thrashed not feet away from him, trying desperately to remove the obstacle that had taken residence in its back. Dark, reddish-black ooze was filtering to the ground in spheres, landing on the grass to sit like molten beads.

"Run, you fool!"

A figure was shambling over the gentle rolls of the Island's material border, bent and broken.

Knuckles' already battered mind recoiled as his sharp vision focussed on what was headed his way.

It _was_ Yormek.

His body was no better than when he had left him in the clearing. If anything, his condition had worsened. Brown maggot-like creatures flooded from his innumerable open wounds, making a continuous cacophony of clicking and hissing. There was a long red streak on the earth where he had trodden. He was still missing a hand.

Knuckles couldn't make sense of what he was seeing. Yormek still looked very dead, but how was he alive? This wasn't making any sense at all. Was he dreaming? Was there a chance that none of this was real?

"Knuckles, you fool, I told you to run!"

The Beast twisted and snapped. The shaft of wood, a broken shard of the old man's former staff, finally gave away and shattered under the relentless attacks of the creature. It contorted to pass a hateful glare towards the elder figure, the remainder of its facial muscles bunching horribly. --_**…meDdlEr…**_--

"Begone!" shouted Yormek, red and maggots cascading from between his teeth to the ground. "Your filth has no power here!" He continued to fight his way towards the two of them. "Go back to your masters!"

It laughed at him. --_**…YoU whO SErve tHe saMe aS i?… dAre to deFy mE?…**_--

"My servitude to such evil and malice has long been over! Their foul influence upon the innocent will be stopped!"

The red Guardian was frozen in place, the strange rock still clutched in his hand. His head was spinning. Yormek was a bleeding zombie and the creature in front of him was going to tear him a new one. His only escape was directly behind him but he couldn't reach it.

_**--…i hAve reNDed yoUr bOdY a tHoUsaNd tImes, CoNstrUctor… tHis wiLl be ThE lAst…**_--

The remains of the old man grinned. "If you haven't managed to kill me yet after all this time, I doubt you'll ever achieve it."

Snarling, The Beast lunged at Yormek a second time, leaving the echidna alone. The maggot-ridden elder smiled, lifting his remaining hand from the mess that had become his form. The larvae and grime fell away from the limb, revealing another long splinter of the broken staff. The gross creature sailed towards him regardless, maw open. Faster than lightning Yormek brought the wood up, its serrated point cutting the glare of the sun, and thrust it forwards. It disappeared into the open mouth of The Beast, exploding from the back of the head as it bore down upon it with all its weight still in flight. With the shaft still in his grasp, Yormek forced the creature to its belly, twisting his weapon to keep his foe from getting free. The Beast choked and thrashed in every direction, its own life refusing to fade even as its cranium slowly splintered to nothing from its own retaliations. The old man looked up. "Guardian! Now is your chance! Fight the influence of Chaos and throw yourself over the edge to the world below!"

Knuckles could barely hear the creature, his mind was so confused.

"Guardian!"

He shuddered and clutched at the stone. He had to listen to Yormek… The Beast was fighting like a wildcat, the splinter steadily giving way. The echidna turned slowly to face the open air of the free world. The blue canvas of the sea stretched below, the rough terrain of the earth winding across it. But he couldn't leave… the Emeralds would be left out in the open… defenceless without him…

As he fought with himself, Yormek battled The Beast.

But it was a lie… the Emeralds didn't need him… they were using him…

But what if Yormek was lying instead?… What if none of this was true?… Was he falling for another trick?…

The Emeralds killed your parents… Because of them you are alone… Because of them you will die alone…

His eyes were out of focus, he could no longer see the earth or the sky. His mind swimming and his heart ladden, he lifted one foot. It hung in the air like a lead weight.

The Beast tore itself away from the old man, gnashing its teeth on the wood that was speared through its brain. It could deal with it later. The old man could wait too. What needed to be done was the execution. It revolved its position to face the wavering Guardian.

Yormek was on the ground, beaten and broken. He couldn't fend off The Beast any more.

Whether he was awake or dreaming, Knuckles couldn't tell. The world seemed so foggy and surreal. Were his eyes closed or open? Muffled sounds were coming from behind him, louder and louder. What were they?

The Beast thundered towards the stricken creature. The Guardian would not escape this time. It launched itself through the air, intent on smashing him against the Island's very cliff.

Why did he have one foot in the air? It seemed rather pointless. Was he going somewhere? Was he performing some trick? Were there people watching? The stretch of blankness before him looked so inviting. Maybe he was going there. Yes, he should go there. A weight seemed to lift off of him.

He smiled, and he fell forward.

* * *

Yeah, hope this chapter didn't fall flat on its face. Confusing? Don't worry, all will be explained in due time. 


	4. I:iv The Unlikely Ones

Disclaimers: Knuckles and his fuzzy 'buddies' all belong to the Sonic Team and Yuji Naka.

But everything besides is M-I-N-E.

I didn't get a chance to proof this chapter as many times as I would have liked, so there might be some errors in here. If there's any you folks can spy, please point them out to me in either a review or a PM, I really appreciate all of your help!

* * *

CHAPTER IV: THE UNLIKELY ONES

_Red… Red!_

The world was black and cold.

_Hey, Red, get up!_…

What was that cold eating at his feet?

_Red!_

What was that annoying buzzing?

"Red!"

The world shook, and he came awake.

A gloved hand was gripping his shoulder, shaking him. He peered upwards from the sandy earth, what he saw made him groan aloud.

"Hey, I knew you would wake up!" crowed a blue hedgehog. "Man, what did you do? Crash?" He stood up straight against the blue of the sky, hands on his hips and his face cracked into one of his too-common grins.

Knuckles shifted painfully. He could hear water just behind him. Was he on a beach? He fought to lift himself up. "What happened?" he questioned himself.

"That's what I asked you," replied Sonic.

He shot him a withering glace. Grunting he fought to a standing position. His entire front was covered in yellow sand. The rock was still clutched in his grip. Why… what… He looked around himself. His breath caught when he finally realised that he was not standing on the earth of the Floating Island. He spun around, his gaze searching the sky. He could see no sign of the massive blot of dirt and grass amongst the wispy clouds. "I'm off…?" He looked at the ground. "I'm… free…?"

"Dude, what're you talking about?"

He turned to look at his strained acquaintance, his expression wild. "We're not on the Floating Island, are we?" he questioned forcefully.

Sonic took a tentative step backwards. "Er, no, man. You're on solid ground. …Why?"

Knuckles fell to his knees with a cry, fists in the air. Sonic nearly jumped. The red echidna gripped at the sand, rolling in it in unrestrained jubilance.

"Dude, you're freaking me out!" admonished the bluer of the two.

Knuckles was astounded. He had managed to leave the Floating Island behind! Was that it? Was he free?

"Dude? Don't go all loopy on me!"

He snorted. "Please, Sonic. I'm not going to go 'all loopy' on you."

"Well then, why are you rolling around like some clown? I've never seen you act like that before."

His self-consciousness returning with that remark, the Guardian stood back up and brushed the grains of sand from his fur, keeping a stoic face. "So? It's not like you know me that well, anyway."

Sonic gave him a mild frown. "Hey, I know you pretty well!"

Knuckles gave him a 'humph' in response. He turned back to look over the sea. White foam played at his feet. His shoes were partially soaked. "How long have I been here?" he asked, keeping his person aimed away from the 'hero'. There was a shallow trench in the sand, where he must have skidded to a halt. But he didn't remember actually gliding from the Island. He most certainly didn't just fall, or else he would have drowned, from the look of things.

Sonic shrugged behind him. "Beats me. I just found you like two minutes ago, laying there. I thought you were dead or something. You looked pretty catatonic."

"Pfft, that's a pretty big word, Sonic. Tails making you read dictionaries instead of 'The Cat in the Hat' now?" he fired.

The speedy hog gave him a glare and scratched behind his ear absently.

He turned around with a big grin, and gave the azure figure a friendly sock in the arm. "Lighten up," he said.

Sonic instantly brightened. "Ha, I knew you would get a sense of humour someday!"

His heart and mind feeling considerably lighter, Knuckles walked with his impulsive 'friend' down the stretch of beach. What was he to do know? He was no longer bound to the Floating Island. He didn't have to go back. It all seemed so daunting now. He was free… there was so much that was open to him, he could do whatever he pleased, go where he wished, and no unspoken force would be able to stop him. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed in relief.

"So, why aren't you on the Island, guarding the Chaos Emeralds?" posed Sonic after a while. "Is Eggman up to his usual cranks again? We can team up and sock him good! Just like old times!"

Knuckles was silent a moment. "…No, Eggman isn't why I'm off the Island."

"Oh? Then why?"

"I'm… I'm not a Guardian anymore," he answered. How alien it sounded, to say that. "The Floating Island is no longer my prison."

Sonic looked dumbfounded. "Not a Guardian?" He whistled. "Then what're you going to do with yourself, man? Dude! Who's the new Guardian, then?"

"I don't know. Nor do I care," he finished.

"Harsh."

"What?" He looked at him.

Sonic shrugged. "I mean just… well, wouldn't you care to know who's going to be filling your oversized shoes?"

The echidna looked away from him. "No." There was enough ice in the reply that the hedgehog said nothing more.

The two of them continued down the beach side in silence. The water lapped at the shore in a monotonous rhythm, the sun still high in the sky. Knuckles found himself wondering just how long he had been out cold on the sands before Sonic had found him. Not long probably, as he felt relatively fine.

Sonic eventually piped up about something else. "What's with the rock?" he asked, pointing to the oval stone Knuckles still grasped, against all odds, in his hands.

The scarlet echidna blinked when he realised this, lifting it languidly to peer at it. Why _did _he have it? There was no use for it now, as far as he knew. Though Yormek had told him that apparently it would give him answers. But… did he really want those answers now? The Island and whatever foulness it possessed behind its flawless perfection was behind him, and never again would he willingly go near it, not after what happened. It held nothing for him, and thus, neither did this rock. He considered dropping and leaving it.

"Hey, check this out!" exclaimed Sonic more loudly than needed, making him stop and stare at the sand. "Dude! Those are the biggest tracks I have ever seen!"

Knuckles stopped breathing, praying his sight was playing tricks on him.

Wet, red-stained gouges in the sand leading from the sea to the connecting line of trees not far away were scored upon the giving grains of the beach. The Beast.

"Whoa! What do you think could have made these?" questioned Sonic to no-one in particular, clearly mesmerised. "Maybe some giant dog!" He placed a hand beside one of the heavy prints. They outsized his hand by more than a few inches. "Cool!"

Sonic's childlike joy in curiosity was completely lost on Knuckles, who was struggling to not simply snap and run screaming into the waters. How as this possible? Why was that horrible freak of nature here? He strained to think clearly. Maybe it wasn't The Beast. Maybe it was something else. He wasn't extremely familiar with what lived on the earth below the Island, so it could be anything. But the glaring red embedded in the prints, a detail going totally unnoticed on Sonic's part, was screaming at him that he knew otherwise. There was no natural creature on earth that could make such a trail.

The voice of Yormek rang in his mind. _It will offer you a way to gain the answers you seek. Don't lose it. And you mustn't let The Beast take it from you_… He looked down at the rock he held in his hand. _Don't lose it…_

Why?

The flood of questions that had seemly evaporated upon his realisation of freedom came hurtling back with the force of a ten-tonne pile of bricks.

"Dude, that is trippy."

Knuckles snapped out of his reverie. Sonic was still on his hands and knees, marvelling at the disgusting prints in the sand. The rising waves were slowly washing them away.

How long had the creature been here…?

"Sonic," he asked suddenly. "Have you seen any… large animals about recently?" He had no experience in reading animal tracks. He had no idea as to how old they could be. Could by chance the creature still be here? Watching?

"Eh? Naw, no way, man," answered the hog. "Not if you mean anything other than the usual."

"Which would be…?"

"You know… birds… horses…" He made motions with his hand, sitting on knees. "…Goats. That kind of thing."

Knuckles just rolled his eyes in exasperation. Sonic was not the person to ask for any information if you wanted an intelligent answer. Who he should be asking is Tails. Even Amy could offer up a more educated answer.

"Where are Tails and Amy?" he asked, going off this thought. Wait… if the creature was out there…

"Oh, them?" Sonic was still on the ground, completely oblivious to Knuckles' fears. "Tails is out in his shop. He's retuning the Tornado again. Jeeze, with all the tinkering he does with that plane… I'm amazed he doesn't break it." He scoffed. "It's _my_ plane…" he muttered under his breath.

The echidna waited for a continuation. The other just remained on the sand.

"And? What about Amy?"

Sonic gave him an awkward glance over his shoulder. "What about her?" he responded tersely. "She's off somewhere. Don't care where, as long as _she's_ far away from _me_."

The hedgehog's displeasure at the mention of the pink female nearly made him smile. The two would probably end up together in the end. He scanned the tree line that rested at their left, searching for any signs of unnatural life. Much to his relief and disappointment, he found nothing. No glint of light reflecting off one of the four eyes. No hissing of breath from the misshapen jaws. No taunting words floating up from nowhere. This meant he would probably meet it elsewhere… The thought made him queasy and his stomach falter.

Sonic, having finally had enough of the strange tracks in the sands, stood up and dusted his knees. "Well, Red, it's good to see you're finally off that hunk of rock." Knuckles gave him a brief glare, an automatic response he had developed for every time the blue fur-ball had called his once-beloved home anything that didn't carry at least some amount of respect. "Dude, you look like you haven't eaten in a while! I know a nice place where the mangos are ripe at this time of year. Want to come?"

The red echidna started at this. Indeed, his stomach was very empty. He hadn't eaten anything since he had met Yormek… His mind had been too preoccupied with everything that had happened since to take accurate note of his natural needs. Some food would be welcome. At the very least, he didn't want to encounter that creature on an empty stomach if he could help it. "Sure. I guess could use a little something."

Sonic clapped him on the shoulder. "Great! Let's go!"

- - -

The speedy mammal had lead him away from the beach towards the small forest, which had earned a long hour of Knuckles searching every shadow for any sign of The Beast. Not that Sonic noticed. Soon enough the trees dwindled away into a vast plain, the forest continuing on for several more miles to the far left of the rolling hills of grass. It wasn't until traversing over several lengths of this exposed terrain that the reddish fruits were found.

Sonic sat on the ground with his back against one of the mango trees, arms folded behind his head. "Relax, Red, you look as if some crazed robot is going to spring out of nowhere and come after you. Sit down and enjoy yourself."

Knuckles stood on the plain, looking over the ocean of bladed green with utmost concern, the rock in one hand, and a half-eaten fruit in the other. The area was so flat… There were hills, but they weren't large enough to hide them. The only upside was that if The Beast was anywhere near them, they would be able to see it coming for a fair ways. However, that also meant that it would be able to see them. He took a slow bite of the fruit, his vigil as stubborn as he was. The stone Yormek had given him had never left his hand since he had been forced to carry it. He peeled his gaze away from the plains for a moment to peer at it in question. What was this thing, really? It was hard and heavy, but it was also _warm_. It was like a living heat. The old man had called it an egg before… but that still didn't make any sense to him. And he wondered, how was this thing supposed to help him answer all the questions that now plagued his mind? Stones, nor eggs for that matter, could talk.

The object's textured surface was stained with the blackish grime that had gushed forth from the collapsed Colossi back on the Island.

He found himself wondering. He knew close to nothing of his own _kind_. He had never met any other echidna in the span of his life, not including the Colossi at any rate. Where did he come from? That was a question children asked their parents, and generally got a straight answer, he guessed. He had never asked that question, as he had no-one to ask it to. His confusion in this regard was all the more bolstered with the fact that his parents were _statues_. From what he knew of general biology, that simply didn't work.

A small breeze came filtering from the east, and the sun was slowly descending behind them in the west. The end of the day would be upon them within hours. The former Guardian was eager to find shelter in this… new land. With The Beast out there somewhere… he wanted a safe place to rest. The last thing he wanted was to be ambush and torn to pieces in his sleep. But where could he go? Where would be safe? As far as he could tell, the freak didn't sleep.

He heard the hedgehog get up behind him. "Awg, that hit the spot!" he said brightly. "So, Red, where you headed now?"

Knuckles didn't turn to face him. "I don't know."

Sonic was unfazed. "Really? Huh, well, why don't you come down to Tail's shop? The kid's got some new gadgets, maybe you'll be able to 'appreciate' them as he calls it, or whatever."

Not in any frame of mind to do anything else, Knuckles allowed himself to be lead away by the hog back towards the trees, where the two-tailed fox had supposedly relocated his mechanical outpost. Since Eggman had destroyed their last runway, they have had to relocate, or so Sonic claimed, for better safety and secrecy. The place was completely hidden from above, and already the talented fox had installed a robotic aircraft-runway that could be stored beneath the cover of trees or the local fauna and be unobtrusively removed for it to be likewise used. Just how the kid came up with these inventions had always evaded the echidna. The fox was simply too smart to be making the hedgehog, who was nowhere as mentally inclined as himself, his idol. Of course, Knuckles knew there was more between the two of them than merely admirer and admired.

The sun was below the canopies by the time they reached the duo's new hideout. Evening was a mere hour away by now. The scarlet echidna was bound to develop a score of stomach ulcers by the end of the month he was so apprehensive walking amongst the trees. There were so many places to hide… Could they be being followed?… Would they be alright with that thing prowling about?… So many worries and questions twirled about his brain…

"Hey, Tails!" shouted Sonic once they were within sprinting distance of the shop. "Come on out, we've got company!"

The new shop was more or less an exact replica of the old one. Tails' signature two-tail logo was painted on the west side. The building possessed a sloped roof which, oddly enough, had trees growing out from the shingles. Knuckles guessed this was to help hide the incredibly large construction. The garage alone looked to contain at least three Tornados lined wingtip to wingtip.

A wooden side door opened and a small golden-furred figure stepped out. Armed with a blowtorch in one hand and a set of heavy-looking goggles squatting on his head, Tails 'helloed' back to them with an exaggerated wave. "Hey, Knuckles!" he greeted as he came down from the door. "Nice to see you, anything new?"

"Knux here was just let go from his job as Guardian," filled in the blue blur, jabbing a thumb in the echidna's direction.

Tails was surprised. "Really?"

"I wasn't 'let go'," retorted Knuckles. "I'm merely free to do what I wish now. I don't have to claim the Floating Island as my only home."

Sonic snorted dismissively. "Same dif."

Tails lead them inside. The common portion of the shop was a little cramped, not entirely built to accommodate more than two people. It had a kitchen and a living room combined into one. The couch was a little tussled. Knuckles guessed that was where Sonic ended up crashing more times than an actual bed. "Sorry about the small size of the place," apologised the youngest of the bunch. "I'm thinking of renovating the place in the near future… make it a little bigger."

Sonic gravitated to the couch instantly and flopped down on it. "Ah, the place is fine!" he said. He reached over and claimed an open soda from the coffee table.

Knuckles just stood, evaluating the place in hopes of distracting his thoughts from the creature that was possibly prowling these very woods. The shop looked fairly sturdy. Tails had a good head on his shoulders. If it wasn't for him, the hedgehog would probably be setting himself up in caves or something every night.

"So where are heading off to now that you're off the Island, Knuckles?" asked the fox brightly, removing the heavy working gloves from his hands.

The former Guardian shrugged. "Not sure."

"Well, you're welcome to stay with us."

"Yeah," piped Sonic. "We'll have house parties every week! It'll be a blast."

Knuckles frowned a little. "No parties, thanks. No, I think I'll be heading out on my own. I have things I need to do."

"Stay for the night, at least!" crowed the hog from the furniture. "It's getting late, and the mosquitoes are just killer at this time of year. They'll be gone by morning, though. Just stay away from the taller grasses."

"Yeah," pitched Tails. "We've got some extra food in the fridge, and it'll go bad if we don't eat it." He scratched behind his ears and looked at the floor in mild shame. "I picked up too many groceries last trip."

"I told you to leave that stuff to me, kiddo!" He took a slurp from the soda can. "I always know exactly what we need."

"True…" He brightened. "So how about it? Will you stay for the night? We've got an extra cot, too," he added.

"Naw, don't give Red that! You can sleep in my room, Knux! The bed's real comfy."

Knuckles gave him a look. "What about you?"

"Me? I got the couch!"

- - -

The three shared an evening of cooked corn and grilled pork. For all his foolish tendencies, Sonic could cook a mean meal. Just where he got it from, though, Knuckles could never guess. Their plates were picked clean by supper's end. "Corn-Chowder is on the menu tomorrow, dude, if you want to stay longer," invited the hog after the plates had been confined to the sink.

"I think I'll pass," replied Knuckles, feeling revived.

"Tch, you're missing out, man. But what-ev, next time, then."

The shop had long since been powered down, with only a single bulb shining in the housing portion of the building. "It keeps the bugs away," explained Sonic after dinner, sitting on the counter. The moon was barley a sliver over the treetops by now. "The moths here are _humongous_. When we first built the place, Tails was working into the late hours. But every morning he did that, the local insects would just _converge_ on the place like whoa!" He made radical motions with his hands. "Our whole shop would be totally covered in these like, foot-wide moths!" He took a drink from the soda from the couch. "I warned him, too. But Tails didn't believe me. _Now_ we don't run any electrical appliances during the night. Aside from that one light there."

Tails made a face. "I can't get nearly as much work done…" he muttered.

"Hey, it's a small price to pay, bro." Another drink. "And by-the-by, you should be knocking it back to dream-land, it's after nine."

Tails bade them 'goodnight' and left the kitchen / living room.

"The kid's a real light sleeper, the sun wakes him up almost instantly. If he doesn't go to bed a good time…" he shook his head. "…He'll just conk out." Sonic snapped his fingers. "Like that."

Knuckles nodded, peering out the nearest window. It was odd. He had always thought Sonic to be a total idiot… which in many ways he was, but what he lacked in general knowledge, he had long since made up for with environmental know-how. He couldn't put two Lego-blocks together if his life depended on it, but his survival skills were topnotch. It had taken a few years for Knuckles to learn, let alone admit this due to his own sense of survival-pride; but alternately it was also a part of why he wondered at how Sonic and Tails managed to mesh as well as they did. Tails was a mechanical genius, capable of building almost any contraption from nothing but scrap, while Sonic couldn't tell you how to work a battery. On the flipside though, Tails couldn't pick out most types of nuts from berries, while the hog could tell you the weather more accurately than the weatherman on TV. The two complimented each other extremely well.

"So, man," said Sonic after a while, turning off the shop's only remaining light. A dull blue sheen overtook everything, just enough to see by. "I guess you'll be heading out in the morning, huh?"

Knuckles nodded absently, still staring out the window. "Yeah…"

The hedgehog evaluated him for a moment. "What's messing with you, Red?" he posed eventually, earning the echidna's attention. "You look like something's eating you right fierce. What's up?"

"Nothing." He earned an unbelieving arch of an eyebrow. "Look, my business is my own. So just keep your nose where it won't hurt you," he snapped.

Sonic lifted his hands in a show of peace. "Alright, alright." He jumped off the counter. "Anyway, see you in the morning. My room's the third door on your left, okay?"

"Sure… Thanks."

- - -

Sonic sounds like a stoner, I apologise. It was just too tantalising a stunt to pull. He fits the whole 'dude...' thing so well. I've always considered him to be some kind of nature buff, since he can't seem to figure an electrical plug from a toaster. In case some of you are preparing to bombard me with 'the Tornado isn't Sonic's!' messages, the Tornado is in fact the blue-blur's, it says so in the manual of _Sonic 2_ for Genesis, Tails sees him flying it around and follows him (and thus becomes his chum).

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed chapter four. I tuink I'll be taking a little break for the time being, until classes restart and my life is put back into some sort of manageable equilibrium. Happy holidays to all of you, and have a grandios New Year. I'll be seeing you all soon, up next is Part II: GreenScape.


End file.
